Hengistbury Head

Charlotte Smith and Sean Fletcher are on Hengistbury Head in Dorset, where a large-scale engineering project is set to save huge swathes of this coastline from being lost to the sea.

Sean jumps in a digger and joins the team reconstructing Long Groyne – a breakwater that, after 85 years of service, has reached the end of its lifespan. He learns how marine life will be offered new, artificial reefs to colonise around the new groyne. Sean also meets a local archaeologist to discover how Hengistbury Head used to be a bustling international port town during the Iron Age.

Charlotte explores the abundant wildlife of the area, learning how its range of landscapes shelter a rich diversity of invertebrates, amphibians and birds. We also meet the man in charge of a herd of celebrity goats saving a local cliff face, and an artist who’s been documenting the changing moods and seasons of the land here for over 30 years.

Adam Henson meets a passionate wool campaigner who is at the forefront of finding new uses for one of our oldest natural resources.